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Curriculum, Assessment and Policy

A Nation at Risk

Government Report

A Nation at Risk is the April 1983 report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, commissioned by US Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell. Its stark warning that American schooling was being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity catalyzed the standards-and-accountability movement in American education. It is a report rather than a law, carrying no legal force, but its influence runs through the state reform wave of the 1980s to No Child Left Behind and the Common Core standards.

Facts
Key Provision
Declared that declining academic performance threatened American competitiveness and recommended reforms that launched the standards-based accountability movement. 1
Enacted / Adopted Year
1983 1
Published April 1983; a report, not enacted legislation.
Connections

Policies Informed

Common Core belongs to the standards movement lineage A Nation at Risk began.

Source Wikipedia
Additional Source A Nation at Risk (Wikipedia)A Nation at Risk article, legacy toward standards reform

NCLB descends from the standards-and-accountability movement A Nation at Risk launched.

Source Wikipedia
Additional Source A Nation at Risk (Wikipedia)A Nation at Risk article, legacy section
Sources
1. Wikipedia
Wikimedia Foundation
  • A Nation at Risk article, Formation and motivation section
    the educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a Nation and a People
  • A Nation at Risk article, publication date
    Published 1983
  • A Nation at Risk article, recommendations
    school districts and State legislatures should strongly consider 7-hour school days, as well as a 200- to 220-day school year
View the Source
A Nation at Risk (Wikipedia)
  • In Category: Curriculum, Assessment and Policy, A Nation at Risk article
    the 1983 report of the United States National Commission on Excellence in Education
  • Policies Informed: No Child Left Behind Act, A Nation at Risk article, legacy section
    the 1983 report of the United States National Commission on Excellence in Education
  • Policies Informed: Common Core State Standards, A Nation at Risk article, legacy toward standards reform
    the 1983 report of the United States National Commission on Excellence in Education
View the Source
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